Friday, June 11, 2010

The Lies We Told: a Trailer and Three Drafts by Diane Chamberlain

Diane Chamberlain is the bestselling author of nineteen novels. She lives in North Carolina with her significant other, John, and her two Shelties, Jet and Keeper.

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The Lies We Told: a Trailer and Three Drafts by Diane Chamberlain

I'm grateful to Kaye for helping me celebrate the release of my 19th novel, The Lies We Toldwith a guest spot on her blog. I'm going to use this opportunity to share my book trailer with all of you and also to give you a small peek into my writing process. Welcome to my world!

The trailer was created by my significant other, photographer John Pagliuca, and yours truly. We wanted to capture the feeling of the book instead of trying to tell the story itself. I did the narration, reading from the very first page of the book. It's a huge challenge to create a book trailer, but we had a good time putting it together and I hope you enjoy it.

People ask me how many drafts I write when working on a book and I'm never sure how to answer, so this time I counted. The answer? Six. I'm tired just thinking about it! The picture of my office was taken somewhere toward the end of the fifth draft. What a mess! I thought I'd demonstrate how those drafts differ from one another by sharing the same paragraph from an early draft, a middle draft, and the (almost) final draft.

The Lies We Told is the story of two sisters, Maya and Rebecca, both doctors working with a relief organization after a hurricane nearly wipes out Wilmington, North Carolina. You can read the prologue and first chapter on my website if you like. (www.dianechamberlain.com)

We are in Maya's point of view in the scene below. I hope that seeing the first draft will encourage those of you unpublished writers who think you have to write something perfectly the first time!

Early Draft:

A guy walked into the restaurant. She noticed him the second he walked in. there was something about him. the way he scanned the restaurant. unsmiling. a flare to his nostrils that reminded her of ___. His eyes came to rest on the two men at the table next to her and Adam's he walked toward the table with a deliberate stride, and she watched him pull a gun from his jacket pocket and before she could scream or duck or even widen her eyes, he'd shot the man at the table in the head. Everyone screamed then. She had a lot of company.

-------------- Middle Draft:

Adam said something to Brent and Rebecca, but I didn't hear him. My gaze was on a man who had just walked into the restaurant. He was dark-haired, wearing a white t-shirt and beige pants and he stood in front of the door, looking from table to table. There was something about him that sent a shiver through me.

He started walking toward us--or at least, I thought he was heading toward us. Then I saw that his gaze--his ice-blue eyes--was on the two men at the table adjacent to ours. Adam said something that must have been funny, because Brent and Rebecca both laughed, but I'd set down my fork and was beginning to tremble, my heart thudding beneath my breastbone.

I knew how quickly these things could happen. He reached behind his back, then whipped his arm out straight, the gun a gray blur, and I saw the small symbol tattooed on his finger as as he pressed the trigger.

-------------- (Nearly) Final Draft:

Adam said something in response, but I didn't hear him. I was watching a man who had just walked into the restaurant. He was Caucasian, dark-haired, wearing a white t-shirt and beige pants, and he stood in front of the door, shifting his gaze quickly from table to table. Something about him sent a shiver through me.

He started walking toward us--or at least, I thought he was heading toward our table. His stride was deliberate, his nostrils flared. Then I saw that his eyes--his /ice-blue /eyes--were locked on the two men at the table in front of ours. Adam said something that must have been funny, because Brent and Rebecca both laughed, but I'd set down my spoon and was gripping the corner of the table, my heart thudding beneath my breastbone.

I knew better than anyone how quickly these things could happen. He reached behind his back with his right hand, then whipped his arm out straight, the gun a gray blur as it cut through the air, and I saw the tattoo of a black star on his index finger as he pressed the trigger.

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Imagine 400 pages of this! No wonder I'm so tired when I finish a book--tired but excited. I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into my world. I'll pick one of the commenters to this post at random to receive an autographed copy of The Lies We Told. Good luck!

4 comments:

I'm really excited to read this book soon. I enjoyed the trailer (lovely, lovely) and also the guest post by Diane. I have this on my Kindle, so you don't need to add me to the giveaway. Thanks for sharing this with us, Kaye!

Great trailer. All words in all novels tell a story, but it's the feelings they evoke that separates the good from the bad. I appreciate your goal for the trailer, and applaud what I consider a unique success. I am not a great fan of audio books, but if you were the narrator, I would listen to all of "The Lies We Told."

Harley's New book

Click on photo to purchase at amazon.com (paperback or Kindle version)

I'm a lover of words and a lover of images.

The photos you see in the blog posts were mostly shot by me or by husband Donald. Or, they're old family photos - a lovely little benefit of being a part of families who recognized the beauty of preserving our history through photography.

If the photos are not ours, I have tried whenever possible to caption or link the photos to their source. This hasn't always been possible as there are a lot of uncredited images available through the internet.

The photos in the sidebar were not all shot by me or Donald.

Those that we did not shoot are images I'm sharing from Facebook, Tumblr, Google and/or other places.

My sincere thanks to the generosity of so many talented photographers who so graciously share their work for so many of us to enjoy, share and learn from.

IF you see a photo here that is a copyright infringement, please send me an email (barleykw @ appstate dot com) and I'll remove it immediately.

"Oh, Kaye!" A monthly feature at Jungle Red

Look for me at Jungle Red the first Sunday of each month. Just click this picture and you will magically arrive in the land of Jungle Red Writers. Eight smart and sassy crime fiction writers dish on writing and life. It's The View. With bodies. - And now, me. As resident commentator, reader, visionary, mystery maven, arbiter, pundit and prognosticator. Kind of like Andy Rooney, 'cept I'm still living

Books Read During 2015

Every year I promise myself I'm going to keep a log of books I'm reading. And I immediately forget. Then I remember again, but only after I've already read a few books, but can't be sure I'll remember them all and so - - can't bring myself to start the list. It's sort of like missing the first 30 minutes of a movie. I just can't watch it if I've missed the beginning. And being the anal ol' soul I am, I can't bring myself to start a list if I can't be sure it's going to be a complete one.So.I decided to keep a list during 2010 and found it to be a fun thing. Especially for a compulsive list-maker like myself.

THE BODY AT WRAPP'S MILL: A Grist Mill Mystery with Marcy Dehanne by Celia H. Miles

WOMEN IN CLOTHES by Sheila Heti and Heidi Julavits

THE CATALAIN BOOK OF SECRETS by Jessica Lourey

WINTER AT THE DOOR by Sarah Graves

WEST OF SUNSET by Stewart O'Nan

THE MAGNIFICENT SPINSTER by May Sarton

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN by Paula Hawkins

A FRENCH PIROUETTE by Jennifer Bohnet

SEASON OF THE DRAGONFLIES by Sarah Creech

LAND OF ENCHANTMENT by Liza Wieland (ARC)

WALKING ON TRAMPOLINES by Frances Whiting (ARC)

FTC Disclosure Notice

FTC has a new regulation which went into effect in December, 2009 which says, basically - "Amateur Bloggers to Disclose Freebies or Be Fined." Significantly fined. So. Since I happen to be an amateur blogger who sometimes receives free books, here's my required FTC Disclosure Notice: Dear FTC - Regarding review copies of books obtained for this blog. No other compensation is accepted beyond review copies of books - ever. When I do write a review, or opinion, the source of the book cited will be disclosed in the post in which the review/opinon appears. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.